Plano West Senior High School (commonly known as West, Plano West, or PWSH) is a publichigh school in Plano, Texas serving high school juniors and seniors. Plano West is named after its geographic location within West Plano. The school is part of Plano Independent School District and enrolls students based on the locations of students' homes, with junior high school (grades 9-10) feeder schools being Jasper and Shepton, both located west of Coit Road.
The annual graduating class size is typically around 1300–1500 students.[2] For the 2022-2023 school year, it had 1,304 juniors and 1,318 seniors.[3] Plano West was established in the fall of 1999 on the campus of the newly renovated Shepton High School. Plano West is accredited by the Texas Education Agency, done through its accreditation of Plano ISD. The school colors are royal blue, black, and white, and the mascot is the wolf, with the student body being known as "the wolf-pack."
History
Plano West Senior High School opened its doors for the 1999–2000 school year as the third Senior high school in the Plano Independent School District (PISD). Its opening foreshadowed the impending the population boom in Collin County over the next several decades.[4] The following year, Plano West began fielding full teams for varsity sports, cutting into the talent pipeline to rivals Plano Senior High School (PSHS) and Plano East Senior High School (PESH).[5]
Plano West attracted national attention in the summer of 2003, when Plano West baseball player Taylor Hooton hung himself. Hooton's suicide brought attention to teenage steroid use.[2][3]
After a widely publicized and vitriolic battle, PISD in 2009 approved boundary changes that would potentially expand PWSH's enrollment from 2,000 to 3,400 students over 3 years, due to growth patterns in the area's middle schools, eventually making Plano West the largest in Texas. The plan was met with opposition from parents, as PWSH would have enrolled 44% of 11th and 12th graders in the school district.[6] In the early 2010s, due to concerns about rising enrollment at PWSH compared to PSHS and PESH, the district considered options such as adding a fourth senior high school or spending $17 million to expand Plano West.[7][8]
Academics
Plano West has a total enrollment of over 2,600 students and includes students in the eleventh and twelfth grades.[9] After completing tenth grade at Jasper High School or Shepton High School, students matriculate to Plano West for the final two years of high school.[10]
Newsweek ranked Plano West the 22nd best high school in the United States and the #1 comprehensive high school in Texas in 2016.[11]
According to an analysis by PolarisList, Plano West sent the most graduates to MIT, Princeton, and Harvard of any public school in North Texas and the second-most of any public school in the state of Texas.[12]
Plano West led the state with 77 National Merit Semifinalists in 2017, representing the top 1 percent of scores of high schoolers who took the PSAT.[13]
In 2018, 1,223 Plano West students earned college credit through dual enrollment courses or by scoring high enough on Advanced Placement exams, the most of any school in Texas. The next highest was Allen High School, with 962 students earning college credit.[14]
The class of 2021 had an average SAT score of 1163 out of 1600 and an average ACT score of 27.4.[9]
The school is considered a team tennis powerhouse in Texas. The program has 18 state tournament championship appearances, winning five, the fourth most in UIL history.[16][17]
From the school's founding in 1999 until 2017, it won every district match it competed in, a total of 144 matches.[18] Plano West won 20 consecutive district championships from 1999 to 2019.[16]
The school's football team was coached by Mike Hughes from its founding in 1999 until 2015. Under Hughes, Plano West sent dozens of players to the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, including David Lofton, Jordan Pugh, Kyle Bosworth, Jackson Jeffcoat, Soso Jamabo, and Auston Anderson. In 2012, the football team advanced to the fourth round of the Texas high school playoffs, the furthest in school history.[4]
Boys Basketball
After beginning the 2014–2015 season ranked as the #5 boys' basketball team in the United States, Plano West won the 6A state basketball championship on a buzzer beater from D. J. Hogg. The team also included Division I recruits Tyler Davis, Mickey Mitchell, Soso Jamabo, and Chris Giles.[20][21]
The girls' basketball team became a state power during 14 seasons under founding coach Don Patterson, winning 364 games including the 2006 state championship.[22] The team also advanced to the state semi-finals in 2014.[23]
The Plano West Debate Team's most recent win was at the National Speech and Debate Tournament in 2020, for the event Congressional Debate.[29]
Music
The Plano West Chamber Orchestra is made up of approximately 40 musicians. It has won 1st place in the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Honor Orchestra competition (recognizing the top high school string orchestras in Texas) 5 consecutive times, in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010 (TMEA rules prohibit a school from entering the competition the year after it has won), along with several top-5 finishes from 2011 to 2015. The orchestra received the TMEA "Honor Orchestra" designation again in 2016 and 2019.[30] The orchestra has also been featured on the Disney Channel series "Totally in Tune" which aired in 2001.[citation needed] In 2005, the orchestra won a Cappie Award for Outstanding Pit Orchestra in a musical for the school production of Les Misérables.[clarification needed][citation needed]
The Choir Program performs at the annual Texas Music Educators Association Convention.
The Plano West Mighty Wolf Band has a marching and concert season and also has a winter guard program. In the 2009–2010 school year, the band had approximately 95 members; by 2015–2016, this had increased to about 195. The band was led by head director James Hannah from the school's founding until his retirement in 2017. Hannah was succeeded by long time Jasper High School band director Jackie Digby, who leads the band to this day.[31]
Plano West has taught a jazz band alongside its normal band program since the school's opening. In 2018, due to increased membership, the school added a second jazz band. The Plano West Jazz Orchestra, directed by Preston Pierce, was named a finalist for the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition in 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.[32][33][34][35][36] The Jazz Orchestra was the invited high school Jazz Ensemble at the 2016 Texas Music Educators Association Convention.
In 2011, Plano West was named one of only seven Gold Grammy Signature Schools for its music program. The award recognizes top U.S. public high schools making an outstanding commitment to music education.[37]
